In a Q&A following the film's debut, Lane Garrison, who also plays a soldier in the film, said working on the movie shifted his thinking of Gitmo.

"I had a belief that everyone down there was responsible for 911," said Garrison. "After doing this film I started asking questions about Guantanamo Bay and come to find out that there are still men down there that no country wants and I started thinking 'What if there is a guy down there that is innocent that's not a terrorist. Does he deserve that day in court. It changed me to start asking questions and not just go along with the flow."

First-time filmmaker Peter Sattler said he got the inspiration for "Camp X-Ray" after watching documentary footage of a guard and a detainee talking about books on a library cart. In his film, Stewart's Amy Cole and Moaadi's Ali similarly bond over the prison's book selection.

To prepare for the role of Ali, Moaadi says he "stayed in a prison cell for a couple of hours each day" while on location at an abandoned juvenile prison in Whittier, Calif. "I got let out for this," he joked.

Sattler originally intended Stewart's role for a male, but he shifted to a female lead because he felt it created more conflict between Amy and Ali. "And Muslims' extremist relationship toward women also complicated (the story)," he said. "So I clicked into that."